Mairi #9 Rising to the challenge
Dec 16, 2020
Tania Cotton: MovementWise Milestones – Mairi’s Adventure to the Nid D’Aigle
Mairi wanted to walk the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) and I wanted her to be ready physically, mentally, and emotionally for this next MovementWise Milestone! Where could I take her that would give her the opportunity to explore her strengths and also to highlight abilities that still needed to be worked on and developed so that she could prepare to embrace this new challenge with conviction and confidence? The Nid D’Aigle means ‘The Eagle’s Nest’ and as it the name suggests it is a place high up in the mountains where the eagles fly and where you can touch the glacier. This stunningly beautiful walk of over 1000 metres ascent, involves varied terrain, ladders, exposed uneven rock and flowing rivers and snow banks to cross. Preparation was key, and this involved not only choosing the right kit – shoes, rucksack, walking poles and layers of clothing; but also the right sustenance in terms of food for energy, and also sustenance in terms of the energy that comes from maintaining your morale when you may feel cold, tired and emotionally stretched to the edge of your comfort zone!
The Nid D’Aigle
Walking up metal ladders and over exposed areas of uneven rock were physical skills well within Mairi’s ability within a ‘gym environment’ yet when confronted with the exposure of a drop to one side, Mairi’s primal instinct was to crouch and crawl instead of standing tall. This experience of being ‘on the edge’ of her comfort zone, caused her to make a deliberate decision to go back via a longer but less steep path, adding on a couple of hours to the walk. It highlighted how the unfamiliar and unknown can cause us to move differently and how a diversity of movement challenges enable us to become both more durable and adaptable – key to our survival. The TMB was going to be a big challenge and Mairi needed to feel that she could thrive and really enjoy the experience, not just survive it!
After this huge achievement, I put together some questions aimed at helping Mairi learn from her experiences and to build her competence and self-confidence in the run-up to the TMB. Her answers are below
Mairi’s Self-Assessment Questions:
- Describe your day – the different challenges, emotions, and key learnings.
- Were there moments when you felt ‘on the edge’ – what did you feel, what did you notice about your posture and movement patterns during those moments? What did you notice about your breathing – or perhaps you were not even aware of your breathing?
- What movement cues did you receive from me that sounded familiar – were you able to put them in action, if not why not? When you received encouragement to breath more slowly and more deeply
- Do you remember why?
- Did you give it a try? If not, why not? If you did, what did you feel?
- Describe the diversity of physical and sensory challenges you experienced throughout the day?
- Nutrition – describe your picnic and how did it felt to eat real food versus ‘quick fixes’ and energy bars? How did this make you feel physically, energy-wise, and morale-wise?
- Hydration – did you feel as if you drank enough and regularly enough – did you have a top strategy that worked for you?
- Did you feel well-equipped? describe what was in your rucksack – did you use all your kit, was there anything you felt you were missing or anything you felt you could have left behind? What about the rucksack itself – how much weight do you think you were carrying and where were you carrying this weight – on your hips, on your shoulders, other?
- How long did you think you were going walking for – how long did you go walking for?! Were you happy with taking a longer but easier route back rather than going back down the same way?
- How did you feel at the end of the day? In your body, in your SELF?
- Taking time to stop for photos and looking back at the photos – how did this enhance your experience of the day?
- What does it feel like to look back to where you have come from – walking on crutches, walking up to the lake at Les Tapes etc..
- How do you feel, now that you ‘dare to dream’ about where you want to go: Tour du Mont Blanc? What have you learnt from today in terms of:
- TMB being an achievable realistic goal for this year?
- What movement competencies and self-confidence strategies you would like to work on.
- Do you have a good enough rucksack?
- How will you prepare yourself for carrying a heavier load – rucksack?
- How will you prepare yourself for doing long, consecutive days of walking?
- Will you allow yourself a rest day – a photographic writing day perhaps when you are staying somewhere nice?
- How did you feel the morning after this MW Milestone. Describe again to me how you have learnt to walk ‘setting yourself up for success’ by running the ‘hug my hips’ programme in your mind. When you felt ‘on the edge’ and folded in 2 – did this programme revert to the old default ‘bum out of the back door’ mode?! Do you feel you can learn to run your new ‘success programme’ in more challenging situations? Has learning to ride your bike helped the way you think about this in terms of how you can progress?
- You have just had a birthday – so chronologically you are older. What is your message to others in terms of paying more attention to their ‘physiological age’? Can How much younger do you feel, in body and spirit than you did a year ago?
Mairi Watson: Rising to the Challenge
Over the past 18 months I have set myself Movementwise Milestones. These are challenges, some big and some small, for me to aim for along my recovery road. One huge milestone that I wanted to do was to walk the Tour du Mont Blanc – a 10 day, 170 kilometre walk around the Mont Blanc massif passing through parts of Switzerland, Italy and France, carrying my backpack and staying in refuges along the way. If the weather permitted and the refuges were open, I wanted to do it when the snow had melted and the alpine flowers were in full bloom. To prepare me for the TMB, and to show me what was in store, Tania suggested we walk up to the Bionassay Glacier and the Refuge Nid D’Aigle over 2,412m, on the Mont Blanc Massif.
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